FORESTRY COMMISSION THIRTY-FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE FORESTRY COMMISSIONERS FOR THE YEAR ENDED SEPTEMBER 30t h 1953 Presented pursuant to Section 7 (3) of the Forestry Act, 1945 {8 & 9 Geo. VI Ch. 35) Ordered by The House of Commons to be Printed 11th May 1954 LONDON HER MAJESTY’S STATIONERY OFFICE THREE SHILLINGS NET Forestry Commission ARCHIVE F orestry Commission, 25, S avile R ow, L o n d o n , W .l. 11th February, 1954 To: T he M inister of A g r ic u l t u r e a n d F isheries. T h e S ecretary of State for S c o t l a n d . Gentlemen, In pursuance of Section 7 (3) of the Forestry Act, 1945, I have the honour to transmit the 34th Annual Report of the Forestry Commissioners covering the Forest Year ended 30th September 1953. I am, Gentlemen, Your obedient Servant, (Sd.) RADNOR, Chairman. 2 CONTENTS Page IHE CORONATION 7 g en er a l REVIEW .......................................................... 7 Forestry Commission Operations ............................... 7 Utilisation of Forestry Commission Produce 8 Private Forestry .......................................................... 9 The D edication Scheme ............................... 9 Additional Grants ............................................ 9 M arketing .......................................................... 9 Assistance to Co-operative Forestry Societies 9 P lanting....................................................................... 10 The Felling Quota ............................................ 10 Licensing .......................................................... 11 Pitwood..................................................................................... 11 Utilisation of Thinnings...................................................... 13 Windblow in Scotland.......................................................... 13 Grey Squirrels ............................................ 14 Wages and Holidays of Industrial Employees ... 15 Conferences and Visits A broad ............................... 16 SUMMARY O F T H E Y EA R ’S WO R K 17 ORGANISATION ....................................................................... 19 The Forestry Commissioners............................................ 19 The National Committees ............................................ 19 The Regional Advisory Committees............................... 20 The Home Grown Timber Advisory Committee ... 21 The Commissioners’ Staff ........................................ 22 Professional and Technical Staff ................. 22 Administrative, Executive and Clerical Staff 22 Labour Employed ............................................ 22 THE YEAR’S WORK ............................. ............................................ 23 The Forestry Fund ..................................................................................... 23 Financial Tables ....................................................................... 23 Acquisition and Utilisation of Land ......................................................... 24 Land not Placed at the Disposal of the Commissioners ... 24 N um ber o f F orests ....................................................................... 25 Land Acquired'during the Year ............................................ 25 Progress of Acquisition of Plantable L and .............................. 26 Land A cquired to D ate .......................................................... 26 Cultural O perations..................................................................................... 28 Forest Nurseries ....................................................................... 28 Seed Supply ....................................................................... 28 Home Collection of Seed .............................. 28 Imports of Seed ............................................ 29 Sales of S e e d ......................................................... 29 Nursery W ork ....................................................................... 30 Nursery A rea ......................................................... 30 Use of Nursery Ground .............................. 31 Seed Sow n ......................................................... 31 Stocks o f Seedlings and T ransplants................. 31 Sales of Nursery Stock .............................. 31 Expenditure ... ............................................ 31 Plantations ..................................................................................... 34 Plants used for Planting and Beating Up ................. 34 Progress of Planting to D ate ............................................ 35 3 23598 A 2 Page Forest Protection ............................................ 36 Fire Protection ............................................ 36 Protection against Damage by Animals 37 Gale Damage ... ... ... ... 37 Preparation and Sale of Produce .............................. 37 Thinning and Clear F elling .............................. 37 Sales o f F orest Produce ............................... 38 Licensing of Timber Felling ............................................ 39 R o a d s ..................................................................................... 40 Estate Management ................... 40 Tenancies .......................................................... 41 S t o r e s ..................................................................................... 41 Miscellaneous Expenditure............................................ 41 Private Forestry .......................................................... 42 The D edication Scheme ............................... 42 Approved Woodlands... ......... 42 Planting on Private E s t a t e s ............................... 43 Thinning Grants ............................................ 44 Research and Experiment ... ... ... ... 44 Silviculture .......................................................... 45 Forest Genetics ... ... ... ... 46 Forest Pathology ............................................ 46 Studies of Growth and Yield... ...... 46 Forest Entomology ... ... 47 Machinery R esearch ............................................ 47 Utilisation Research ... ... ... ... 47 Advisory Committee on Forest Research ... 47 Grants to Universities and Other Institutions 48 E ducation ........................................................................ 48 Forester Training Schools ......... 48 Short Courses for Forest Workers ...... 48 Northerwood House ... ... ... ... 49 Forestry Apprenticeship Scheme ................. 49 Publications ....................................................................... 49 Publicity and Public Relations ......... ^0 National Forest Parks ................. ... ... ... ^ 4 Page a p p e n d ic e s 1 Payments by Heads of Account, and Receipts 52 2 Expenditure and Income ...... 52 3 Forestry Operations ... 53 4 C ultural O perations ... 53 5 Private Forestry ................ 54 6 Research and Experiment 54 7 E d u c a tio n .............................. ................. ... 55 8 Special Services................................................................................................. 55 9 Plantations made during the Year ended 30th September, 1953 — Summary by Conservancies ............................................ 56 10 Summary of Species used for Planting and Beating Up ... 58 11 Summary Area Statement of Land Use: By Conservancies ... 59 Area Statements of Land Use: By Forests:— 12 England ... 59 13 Scotland ... 64 14 Wales ... ... ... 68 MAPS Outline Maps showing Distribution of Forests 71 England ... ... ... 72 Scotland... 78 W ales .......................................................... 82 Addresses of M ain Offices o f the Forestry Com m ission ... 84 5 23598 THIRTY-FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT O F T H E FORESTRY COMMISSIONERS FOR THE YEAR ENDED SEPTEMBER 30th 1953 THE CORONATION The Coronation, was commemorated Iby naming a road, a forest and a Forest Park. In Wales a new road, 22 miles long, built to serve Coed Morgannwg (the Forest of Glamorgan) was opened by H.R.H. The Princess Royal and named Ffordd y Frenhines (The Queen’s Way). In England, Buriton Forest in Hampshire, which in time will be an almost pure beech wood, was renamed Queen Elizabeth Forest, the ceremony being carried out by the Duke of Wellington, Lord Lieutenant of the County of Southampton. In Scotland a newly formed Forest Park comprising Ben Lomond, Loch And Forest and part of the Trossachs is to be named Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, and the naming ceremony will take place in 1954. The Commissioners also co-operated in many local tree planting ceremonies. GENERAL REVIEW Forestry Commission Operations The need for the greatest possible economy in national expenditure was again a guiding factor to the Commissioners in framing their programme of work. The gross expenditure during the year on forestry operations, excluding housing and acquisition of land and the increase in expenditure due to a rise in forest workers’ wages, was less than 2 per cent, greater than for the previous year, yet the area planted—67,600 acres—was nearly 10 per cent, more than in 1952-53, while the area of plantations to be maintained increased by over 8 per cent. Though the area of plantations thinned in England and Wales increased by 7 per cent, and 3 per cent, respectively, there was a fall in the area thinned in Scotland due to concentration of effort on clearing up the windblow, the net result being that the area of plantations thinned—36,900 acres—iwas substantially the same as in the previous year. The volume of timber from thinnings